Forgotten
by Ender2
Summary: After ROTJ, QuiGon and ObiWan meet again, but both believe that they are the cause of the rise of the Empire and the slaughter of the Jedi. They must work through their guilt and, with each other's help, find redemption.


Official Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places in this fic, they belong to George Lucas, Lucasfilm, ect. I'm not receiving any money for this and no copyright infringement was intended.  
  
Author's Note: This fic is a look at the time after ROTJ, but deals with Episode 1 characters. It's an angst fic, but it is different than my other Star Wars angst/Obi-torture fic, Quietus. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon have been carrying around a lot of guilt since Qui-Gon's death, and in a separate dimension in the Force where all people go after they pass on, they must try to work it out. I always wondered what happened to the Jedi after they "become one with the Force", and here's my take on it. Tell me what you think, and don't forget to review. Thanks!   
  
  
Forgotten  
  
By Ender  
  
  
Obi-Wan Kenobi inadvertently gasped as he felt himself sucked into a gigantic and powerful wave of air. Thoughts bombarded his mind as he was pulled to an unknown destination. He tried recall anything that he had heard about occurrences like this, but when he drew a blank he moved on to remember what had happened to him in the first place.  
  
I was just fighting Anakin. The though forced itself into his mind as he tried to figure out what was happening. he chastised himself, He shuddered at that, at what his former apprentice had become.  
  
Before he could finish his thought, the wormhole seemed to close, throwing Obi-Wan to the ground. He groaned as he pried himself off of what seemed like grass, and was surprised at how easily he was able to do it. Detecting the gentle gurgle of water to his left, he turned and found a clear stream flowing through a small clearing. Looking into it, he realized that he wasn't in his usual body, but looked exactly like he did when he was in his 20's.  
  
Everything was the same, from his cloak and padawan braid to the lightsaber that hung from his belt, exactly the same as it had been before he had lost it is the Theed palace while battling the evil Sith.  
Just thinking of the fight and its outcome brought back bad memories, memories he had worked to suppress for all the years since. He shook his head and brought himself to the present, taking in his surroundings as he had been trained to do.  
  
Everything seemed to be covered with a faint blue glow, but vibrant colors were still apparent all around him. Feeling that this seemed familiar, Obi-Wan started to walk towards a shape in the distance, but was stopped by a tall figure. As the being approached, he saw whom it was causing his jaw to slacken and his eyes to open wide.  
  
"Master Windu!"  
  
"You must go back, Obi-Wan. Your duty is not yet finished." The dark skinned Jedi looked stern as ever as he folded his hands together. Obi-Wan was so surprised, he could barely answer, letting instinct and old training take over.  
  
"Yes, Master." The old words formed at Obi-Wan's lips, words he had not spoken in decades.   
  
Suddenly, the wormhole opened again behind him and Obi-Wan could feel himself aging again. As he was sucked back up, he could barely hear Windu's final words.  
  
"Good luck, Kenobi."  
  
******  
3 Years Later  
******  
  
Obi-Wan found himself in the twisting tunnel again, but was now used to its strange happenings. He calmly waited to be deposited in the other dimension, or what he thought was another dimension. He wondered what it was exactly, since he had not been able to return after his initial visit, instead helping to guide Luke and watching the battles rage in the universe.  
  
This wild and unpredictable ride was almost identical to the first one he had gone on, twists and turns throwing him back and forth. This time, however, he was being tailed by his former apprentice, Anakin, and Master Yoda, both riding the wave behind him. They all had come from the celebration on Endor, ready to face what lie ahead and become one with the Force.  
  
As they were dumped unceremoniously on the ground, Obi-Wan, expecting it, landed, catlike, on his feet. The other two Jedi were not as prepared and tumbled across the bluish-green grass. The same as before, Mace Windu was waiting for them, waiting silently until they recovered from the fall. He finally spoke as Obi-Wan helped Anakin up, offering him a hand.  
  
"Welcome. We've been waiting for you."  
  
"We?" Anakin questioned, roughly dusting off his pants. Obi-Wan saw that his padawan had transformed back to his 16-year-old self; just as Obi-Wan was in his 20's again. Both were not surprised to see Yoda looking exactly the same, though with a few more gray hairs littering his green scalp.  
  
The Jedi followed Windu down a small hill towards the shape that Obi-Wan had encountered three years before, Yoda walking next to Mace as Obi-Wan and Anakin followed wordlessly. Once they got closer it was easier to see the sight up ahead. There was a city, somewhat like Coruscant, no, almost exactly like Coruscant, the sun reflecting off of the numerous skyscrapers. One large building in the center of it stood out, an older design than the rest of the buildings. Obi-Wan held his breath and stared as he saw it, his heart almost stopping.  
  
It was the Temple.  
  
An exact replica of the Jedi Temple that had been burned and destroyed many years before stood proudly in the city's landscape, the five spires shooting towards the sky, giving the illusion that they were flying.  
Obi-Wan couldn't contain his joy at the sight, a huge grin spreading across his youthful face. He had thought that he would never again see the place of meditation and knowledge that he considered to be his only true home. Anakin and Yoda, too, were overjoyed at the sight the light in their eyes gleaming as they watched the Temple.  
  
Windu led them through the weave of buildings to the Temple itself, then entered through the main doors. Amazingly, everything was as Obi-Wan remembered, from the location of the food halls down to the plants in the numerous meditation gardens. As they took a turbolift to the Council chamber, the Jedi viewed many people swimming in the lake, meditating, and walking through the gardens. The peaceful atmosphere that characterized the Temple was the same as it had always been.  
  
The Council room was the same as well, save for the fact that it appeared much larger and contained many more chairs where Council members throughout the ages could sit if they wished. Plo Koon greeted the newcomers.  
  
"Welcome. We are glad to see you return." Anakin shifted uncomfortably.   
"All of you."  
  
"What is this place?" Anakin asked, his impatience getting the better of him. Some things hadn't changed.  
  
"As you can see," Ki-Adi-Mundi answered, "all of the Jedi that have become one to the Force have returned here. They still continue their study and meditation. The cities you see around you contain other people who have passed on also. The galaxy here is almost the same as before." Mace cut in.  
  
"You are free to go where ever you choose, and will always have a place in the Temple. May the Force be with you."  
  
Anakin and Obi-Wan bowed as Yoda waddled over to take his place with the rest of the Council members. The two remaining Jedi left the chamber, taking the turbolift down to the ground level. As they exited, they both felt a familiar presence. Anakin turned slowly with tears in his eyes.  
  
"Ami?" The slim figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing the Queen as she was as a young woman, clothed in a plain but beautiful iridescent dress.  
  
"Annie," her quiet voice could barely be heard. She threw back her hood and stepped forward. Anakin flinched, expecting a blow for all of the atrocities he had committed to the galaxy, and especially to her. Instead, she embraced him, with just as many tears streaming down her face as there were on his.  
  
Obi-Wan stepped away, not wanting to interrupt the tearful and long overdue reunion. He quietly slipped away to walk through the Temple, his boyhood memories coming back to him. Suddenly later memories bombarded him, memories of darkness, hate, death, and pain. He nearly staggered as the familiar guilt wrapped itself around his heart, a place it had occupied for so long.  
  
A figure stepped out from behind a nearby tree as he walked past, causing the pain to vanish, if for an instant.  
  
"Obi-Wan, are you all right?" The figure tried to look him in the eye.  
  
"Bant?" he stammered, not believing she was there and not wanting to get his hopes up. Obi-Wan immediately enveloped her in a hug, embracing the Calamarian who was his best friend and whom he hadn't seen for many years.   
  
"Obi-Wan, I-," she tried to say something, but he stopped her before she could get any words out.  
  
"Before you say anything, I want to say...I'm so sorry. It's all my fault, I'm to blame for the massacre of the Jedi and I can't say how sorry I am for it. I signed your death warrant. Please forgive me, oh Force..." his voice cracked and dissolved at the words. He had been waiting to say them for so long.  
  
"Oh, Obi-Wan," Bant said as she hugged him again, "it wasn't your fault. You did exactly what you were supposed to do. We didn't know either, no one could have predicted what was going to happen."  
  
"Yes," he choked out, "but I was his master. I could've-"  
  
"It was the will of the Force," she stopped his reply with a finger, "All is forgiven. We all know this, the Council, the Jedi, and I. Besides, your destiny was fulfilled. He did bring balance to the Force." Obi-Wan looked her in the eyes and she could see the amount of suffering he had had to endure his entire life reflected in the blue depths. Bant wanted so badly to help him release it and move on, but settled on doing smaller things first.  
  
"Come on, I'll show you around.   
  
*****  
  
Days later, Obi-Wan woke up in his quarters in the Temple. He had slept amazingly well, breaking the chain of nightmares that he had experienced in his later years.  
  
The Jedi smiled as he remembered the previous days' meetings with his friends that had passed on long before him. Garen Muln and Reeft hadn't changed a bit and he had spent many hours with them, as well as Bant. He had been happy to see Siri again, a woman that had been on many missions with him when they were both padawans.  
  
However, there was one person that Obi-Wan hadn't seen, the person he most wanted to see. Qui-Gon Jinn. Obi-Wan couldn't wait to see his previous master at first, but as days passed Obi-Wan still hadn't met with him, or even found him anywhere in the Temple. Surely his master hadn't forgotten him, maybe he was so repulsed by the damage that Obi-Wan had done that he refused to see him. Obi-Wan had been forgiven by everyone except his master. None of it mattered until he could hear Qui-Gon speak the words.  
  
The thought flew threw Obi-Wan's head as he stared down at his hands, which were starting to tremble. Guilt struck him again, immobilizing him, and the words of forgiveness from his friends seemed even more hollow. The Jedi felt intense grief and shame as he realized that he was not worthy to see Qui-Gon.  
  
As Obi-Wan was wallowing in his horrible guilt and shame, his comlink beeped. It was Bant, who asked to meet him at the crystalline lake near his room. He got dressed, then headed down, his shoulders slumped with thoughts of his failure still pulsing through his brain.  
  
*****  
  
He sat by the main lake of the Temple, meditating, as was his custom. When he had first come here, he had taken up his usual routine, since the dimension within the Force was exactly like the regular galaxy from which he had come.  
  
He thought of the events that had occurred in the years after he had left that galaxy. The death and destruction had appalled him, shaking him to the core. It had also effected him in a greater way than most, since the downfall of the Jedi order was almost all his fault, an atrocity he could not think about for long without a good deal of pain.  
  
His thoughts were shattered, however, as he stood up and started to leave the garden on a cool stone path leading to other parts of the Temple. A familiar voice drifted lazily to his ears, a voice of someone he neither had nor expected to hear.  
  
His padawan.  
  
He had known, of course, that he had returned, the last of the old older of Jedi to arrive, but had made no effort to meet him. In fact, he had avoided him completely, guilt burning like a ball of fire in his chest. It was all his fault; he had made his padawan's life and the lives of countless innocent people a living hell. He couldn't bear to hear the accusations and see the disgust his padawan would feel when he saw him.  
It was all his fault.  
  
*****  
  
Obi-Wan walked with Bant along the bank of the lake in silence. She had a worried look on her face, obviously concerned about something.  
  
"What's wrong, Obi-Wan? I know that you've been all around the Temple and talked to your friends. Aren't you happy here?" Obi-Wan sat down heavily with a sigh, letting his bare feet dangle in the water.  
  
"I love it here. I missed this place...my friends...you...so much. It's been like a dream to see you again. But..." Bant leaned forward and slightly closer to him. "There's one person I haven't seen."  
  
"Who?" Obi-Wan's gaze focused on the rippling water.   
  
"Qui-Gon," he whispered, his light blue eyes glazing over.  
  
"You mean you still haven't seen your master yet?" Bant was utterly shocked. "But he's still here with my former master, Tahl." Obi-Wan looked even more troubled, if that was possible. Bant, now feeling bad herself, laid her hand sadly on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Obi. I didn't mean to make it worse." He looked up into her eyes.  
  
"No, it's all right, Bant. I know he hates me for what happened. I don't blame him for avoiding me. I helped kill millions of people. I couldn't save him from the Sith. If I was him, I would never speak to me again."  
  
"Obi-Wan!" The Mon Calamarian grasped his shoulders tightly. "It is NOT your fault. You had no idea what would happen. You did your duty and the best you could, better than other people would have. You had no control over what happened. No one blames you for anything." Obi-Wan stood up abruptly, and spoke in a colder tone than he intended to.  
  
"Except for my master. I know what he would want. I'll stay away from him, I completely understand. I have to go. Thank you for meeting me here."  
  
"You'll have to talk to him, Obi-Wan, someday. He doesn't blame you, I'm sure of it." Obi-Wan walked away, not saying a word. He had failed Qui-Gon, why else would he avoid him? Obi-Wan knew he would do the same.  
As his master wished.  
  
*****  
  
Obi-Wan wandered through the Temple aimlessly, walking through random gardens and rooms on the main level. He felt as at peace as he could here, the Force flowing through him. He closed his eyes and inhaled, letting his perceptions be amplified by the Force. Obi-Wan sensed someone to his left and turned in quick, fluid movement, his eyes shooting open.  
  
His gaze swept over the tall man, who was standing and looking at him, his posture obviously indicating he was surprised as well. His was a face that Obi-Wan hadn't seen in forty years, one that younger man never expected to see again.  
  
"M-master?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice shaking.  
  
"Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon's voice was equally rained. There was a dead silence as they just looked at each other, both appearing as they did the last time they had seen each other. There was a mutual pain in both of their eyes, a testimony to the guilt that both of them felt, but neither of them saw it. All they could think of was their own failings. Obi-Wan, throwing his hesitation and fear to the wind in a short moment of courage, broke the silence, kneeling down on one knee in front of Qui-Gon.  
  
'Master, I know what you think of me, and that you wish not to see me, but I must apologize. I'm sorry for not training Anakin that way you wanted, the way you would have. It's my fault that the galaxy was nearly destroyed. I've broken my promise to train him. I...I couldn't even save you." His sorrowful clear-blue eyes looked up at his master. "Please, if you can find it in your heart to do so, forgive me."   
  
*****  
  
For the second time that day, Qui-Gon was shocked, frozen in place. He had expected his padawan to react with loathing and had just been about to plead for his forgiveness. Now Obi-Wan was asking for his?  
Qui-Gon couldn't comprehend why Obi-Wan thought that the matter was his own fault, Qui-Gon himself was completely to blame, not listening to the Masters about the dangers of Anakin and pawning him off on Obi-Wan. He had slighted Obi-Wan even before that, trying to take Anakin on as his padawan and forgetting about Obi-Wan, who had been with him for thirteen years. He had never had time to apologize before the fateful battle where he died, and even as he slipped away into the Force he didn't even say goodbye to the man he viewed as his son, instead speaking of Anakin.  
  
Qui-Gon needed to tell Obi-Wan this, tell him that it wasn't his padawan's fault, but his, that he was the cause of the slaughter of the galaxy. He put a large hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder, willing him to stand. Obi-Wan did, but confusion could be seen on his face at the gentle gesture.  
"Obi-Wan." It was so strange to see his padawan unchanged after so many years. He wasn't even a padawan anymore, a fully-grown Jedi Master, but he would always be Qui-Gon's padawan. "Listen to me. You don't have anything to apologize for. I was wrong about Anakin, wrong to make you promise to train him. I was responsible for the fall of the Jedi, not you. I hope you can forgive me, for all that I have done. Especially for the times I harmed you, how I ruined your life." Obi-Wan's gaze shot up to meet his.  
  
Both men stared at each other's face again, taking in and comprehending what the other had said. As their eyes locked, the bond between them suddenly reopened, their feelings of regret pulsing through it.   
Soon they saw what the other had thought about their faults and their common misgivings as they released their feelings into it, letting the Force guide them. The pain in their eyes slowly faded and a joy at seeing the other, now without guilt came rushing back. And as they realized this, they started to walk back to the stone path out of the darkness, ready to begin to repair what had been broken for so long. 


End file.
